Star Trek: Secret at the Starfleet Museum
by Alaskan
Summary: What really is happening at the Starfleet Museum on Mars? And what does the descendent of B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris and Worf have to do with it?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

She woke up to beeping. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 5:04 am. _Who in their right minds would be calling at this hour?_ she thought. Then she checked the caller. Starfleet Headquarters. She groaned and thought, _Great, my leave has finally come to an end._ She grabbed a hairbrush and brushed her hair, then answered. "Yes?" she asked the caller.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize me. I'm Admiral Zackirya. And yes, I'm calling about your next assignment."

She stared at him. _He must be able to read minds_, she thought."You're… you're Admiral Zackirya? The head of the museum on Mars?"

"Yes, I am," he said, smiling.

"What is my next assignment, sir?" she asked.

"Lieutenant, your next assignment is at the Starfleet Ships of the Line Museum on Mars. You are required to report there by the end of next week," he said, and started to end the call, then paused. "Oh, and one more thing, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir?" she asked, slightly curious.

"The people who also work there might seem a bit secretive, but don't be suspicious. That's the way people there are when new people arrive. Once they get to know you, they will be less secretive."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you when I arrive." She cut the link, and decided that since she was up, she might as well get dressed.

Once she got dressed, she decided to get passage on a ship to Mars before she was due. It was surprisingly easy, once she showed the travel agent her Starfleet identichip.

So, three days before she was due at the Starfleet Museum on Mars, she took her hour long shuttle ride there. Fortunately, for her anyway, the shuttle was fairly empty.

When Juanita Paris Worf arrived at the Mars colony, she was amazed. She had seen pictures of the colony, but had never been there herself. She made her way to the museum with her belongings, which were very few. She had only two luggage bags.

Juanita entered the building, and headed over to the receptionist, planning on checking in with Admiral Zackirya.

The receptionist looked up. "How may I help you?" he asked.

"I just arrived and I told Admiral Zackirya that I would check in with him when I arrived." Juanita said.

The receptionist looked at her, with a serious face. "He's kind of busy right now. What's your name? Are you in Starfleet?"

"I am in Starfleet. My name is Juanita Paris Worf. My rank is Lieutenant," she answered proudly.

"You must be the new officer he was talking about. I'll call him to tell him that you're here." The receptionist then hit his combadge, connecting to the Admiral, and told him that Juanita was there. The Admiral's voice is heard, saying that he'll be down from his office in a few moments. "Would you like me to watch your bags until you leave, Lieutenant?"

Juanita smiled, and said, "Yes, thank you." She handed her bags over to him, just as Admiral Zackirya was going out through his door. He headed over to her when he saw that she was standing by the receptionist.

When he drew near, she went to attention. "As you were, Lieutenant." He gave the receptionist and Juanita a smile. "It's good to see that you've arrived safely, and early. In any case, would you like the grand tour of the museum?"

Juanita nodded. "Yes sir. It's a good idea."

"Alright, then. Let's get going, Lieutenant." He took her around the museum, showing her everything on display, where she would be working, showed her what she would be doing, and introduced her to everyone she would be working with. When they were done, Admiral Zackirya asked, "Any questions?"

Juanita said, "Yes, who do I report to?"

"Oh, you'll be reporting to Commander Sam Stevenson. Anything else?"

"No sir. That was everything I needed to know, sir."

"Alright then. I'll let you go to your new quarters and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. Dismissed."

She headed back to the reception booth, where the receptionist gave her her luggage. "I'll see you when you start working here," he said, as she thanked him and they said good bye.

When Juanita arrived at her new quarters, it didn't take her all that long to unpack. She was quite comfortable in her new quarters, with nothing to bother her. She started to think about the receptionist. _I might be able to really like that guy_, she thought. _He seemed friendly enough_. She gazed out the window, and saw the sunset. She smiled, and headed out the door, so she could try one of the local restaurants.

As she was walking down the street to the nearest restaurant, after she realized just how hungry she was, she remembered how everyone there seemed to be very secretive. Juanita wondered what they were secretive about.

Before long, she was at the restaurant, which was an Italian restaurant. _Hopefully they make good pizza_, she thought. As she was going in, she ran into the receptionist from the museum, who was also going in.

"Oh! Hi! You're the new person, who came into the museum today aren't you?" he said.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, but I never found out your name," Juanita responded.

"It's Max, Max Fenbly. Would you like to join me for dinner?" he said.

"Okay," Juanita said. He sure is nice, she thought, as they headed inside together to find a place to sit down and eat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The next two days until she started work at the museum, Juanita realized that the Starfleet officers who worked there, at least the ones she met, seemed very secretive. She didn't have much to do until she started her new assignment, so she spent a lot of time thinking about it. _Why are they so secretive? Are they hiding something?_ she kept asking herself. _Max doesn't seem to be very secretive,_ she thought, _but then he's not in Starfleet. He's the receptionist at the museum, so he probably doesn't know what the secret is, if there is one._

After a few days of working at the museum, she started realizing _who_ the people she was working with were. The finest officers of Starfleet were posted at a Museum, and their careers seemed to be going nowhere. _Why are the best officers Starfleet has spending the rest of their time in a _museum_, of all places? Why was I posted here? I should be out piloting starships, not talking about them!_

When she got the chance, she went up to her commanding officer, Commander Sam Stevenson.

"Sir, I would like to ask you a few questions," she said.

The commander straightened up from bending over the console he was working at, and turned to look at Juanita. "Go ahead and ask, then, Lieutenant."

"It's about what we're doing here, Commander. At the museum." Commander Stevenson didn't seem to be affected by what she said. "Why are so many of Starfleet's finest officers doing here? When we could be out helping the Federation elsewhere?"

He took a deep breath and let it out. "I think it's time for us to meet with Admiral Zackirya. There's something important you should know."

The commander led her to Admiral Zackirya's office. He sounded the doorbell. When the door opened to admit them, they entered.

"What is it, Commander?" Admiral Zackirya asked. "Why did you bring Lieutenant Paris Worf?"

Commander Stevenson looked the admiral straight in the eye. "I think it's time that she finds out exactly what we are doing here, Sir."

The admiral looked down at his desk. "Very well, then. Commander, you can stay if you want to, but I expect that you've grown tired of hearing this."

"I would stay and listen, but I have work to do. Thank you anyway, sir." Commander Stevenson then left.

"You might as well sit down, Lieutenant. This might take a while." The admiral rummaged in one of his desk drawers, then took something. "How much do you know about Ambassador Spock?" he asked.

"Not much, sir. Only that he used to be the science and first officer aboard the Enterprise, under Captain Kirk, and that the two were best friends." She started thinking a little more. "I heard something somewhere that Ambassador Spock disappeared, and that his body was later found. Is that true?"

Admiral Zackirya nodded sadly. "Yes, it is. We never found out where he disappeared to. The Federation lost a fine man." The admiral was affected by this. He shook his head, then took the object he had taken out and pressed a button. A holographic image of Spock appeared.

"Is that what I think it is, sir?" Juanita asked.

"Yes. I think it's time you watched this, Lieutenant." He pressed another button, and the holographic version of Spock started speaking.

"_A few days ago, I stumbled upon a rather surprising discovery about subspace. My discovery is that a people from another galaxy, perhaps even another universe, uses subspace for energy. They, unfortunately, also feed off anything that was created around the same time as the discovery of subspace frequencies. Not surprisingly, they destroy whole worlds, solar systems, and at times, whole civilizations. I have reason to believe that they have entered the Milky Way and are headed in a direct course for Earth. If Earth is destroyed, billions of lives will be lost, and the Federation will be in turmoil. Unless they are stopped, this corner of the galaxy will be destroyed, which will eventually lead to the rest of the galaxy collapsing. According to my calculations, they will arrive on October 31__st__, 2575. Unless Earth is protected, total devastation in the Milky Way will begin on that day. _The hologram then turned itself off.

"That's in just over three months! How will we be able to prevent it?" the lieutenant demanded of the admiral.

"We've been working on a solution since we found this in a storage capsule about eight months ago," said Admiral Zackirya.

"What is it?" Juanita demanded.

"I presume that you've seen the NCC-1701 Enterprise on display?" he asked.

"Of course! I went to see it during my lunch break on my first day. I go see it almost every day now," she said. "Does it have something to do with the solution?"

"Yes. I must tell you that the NCC-1701 Enterprise on display is not the original. That is hidden in a safe canyon not too far from here."

There was a moment of silence before she responded. "But...Why?"

The admiral was silent for a second, as if listening to something in the distance. Juanita knew better than to think that. She knew that it was one of the implanted combadges. Then she realized that Max used a combadge that was pinned to his tunic. "Alright. I'll be there in a minute." He looked at Juanita. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but Captain Roswell needs a bit of help, and seeing as we all will be going home soon for the night, I will have to your question later." The admiral motioned to the door, for her to exit.

Juanita got up, but didn't head to the door immediately. She asked, "Doesn't Max have an implanted combadge?"

Admiral Zackirya looked over. "I'm afraid you'll have to ask him that, Lieutenant." With that, they left the office, but before they went their separate ways, the admiral said, "Why don't you come to my office when your shift starts tomorrow, Lieutenant?"

Juanita nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow, and don't worry; I'll tell Commander Stevenson where you are." With that , they left each other's presence.

Even though the museum had already closed, Juanita still had 15 minutes before her shift ended. So, she helped with closing down the museum for the night.

When she was leaving, she saw Max just ahead of her. Juanita hurried up to catch up with him. "Hi Max!" she said.

"Oh! Hi! I didn't see you coming up," he said, surprised.

"I was wondering, why are you using an exterior combadge, instead of having an implant?" she asked.

"Well, I just didn't want to have one inside my head, I guess. It sorta creeped me out," he said, shrugging.

"Oh. I found kinda strange that you use the one pinned on your tunic," Juanita said. "I guess I've never seen people wearing those except for in photos, or holograms."

"Not a lot of people use these anymore, you're right. I had this one made specially for me, since I'll be working in the museum with Starfleet officers," he said. "It's rather handy, really," Max added.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Juanita asked.

"Yeah. Hey, do you mind if I call you sometime?" asked Max.

"Oh, of course not. But only if you allow me to call you after you call me," she said.

"Alright then, we have a deal." With that, they went home.

Juanita still couldn't stop thinking about what Admiral Zackirya was going to tell her, even after a few hours.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

When Juanita arrived at the museum the next day, it was the usual hustle and bustle of Starfleet officers getting the museum ready for another day. As she headed to the Admiral's office, a thought struck her. _Why aren't they using the NX-01 Enterprise?_ she thought. _Well, I'll ask Admiral Zackirya when I get the chance. _Instead of heading toward her normal post, she headed toward Admiral Zackirya's office, as he had instructed. She sounded the door's buzzer when she arrived at the door, and the door opened to admit her.

"Good morning, Lieutenant. Please, sit down," the admiral said, gesturing to the seats in front of his desk. Juanita took one of the seats. "Now, I suppose you would like to know everything else," he said.

"Yes sir," Juanita answered.

"Alright, then. Before I begin, do you have any questions about what I told you yesterday?" Admiral Zackirya asked.

"Why don't you use the NX-01 Enterprise instead of the NCC-1701 Enterprise?" she asked.

"We would have, but after it had been decommissioned, we found that too many systems had been damaged for us to use safely, or to repair easily," the Admiral said. "We didn't want too many questions asked," he added.

"Thank you for clearing that up, sir," Juanita responded.

"You're welcome. Let's get started." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Have you heard of the outposts and colonies on the edge of Federation territory that have disappeared?"

"Yes sir. I've only heard rumors about what caused it, but nothing really certain."

"Well, the people who caused it are aliens operating on a strictly subspace basis." The Admiral paused again. "Now, about the ship. It has been modified in several ways. Two Saturn Five rockets, Proton Rockets from Russia, a number of Soviet Moonshots, and the 16-inch heavy artillery guns from the U.S.S. Missouri have been added.. As you can see, it is well armed." He took a breath and continued. "As you are probably aware, humans and Klingons are the only races to have achieved space flight on a strictly chemical basis, and our ships are the heaviest to actually be in space.

"Yes, I guess the ship is well armed," Juanita said. "Sir, wasn't the NCC – 1701 Enterprise taken apart?"

"It was, but we found all the bits and pieces and were able to put it together much more easily than we expected, even quicker than repairing all the NX-01 Enterprise's damaged systems."

"So no questions were asked? None at all?"

"That's right. We were quite fortunate that no news feed caught wind of anything that we're doing here." Admiral Zackirya paused for a minute, trying to remember something. "Oh, yes. There have also been several seats added, so everyone has a seat. Each seat has what I believe is called a seat belt. That's for when the ship is launching and is in space."

"Why was I assigned here, sir?" Juanita asked, wondering how she fit in.

"Seeing as you're the best pilot Starfleet has, and we needed a pilot who was good and experienced, you fit the bill perfectly."

_So that's why I was assigned here_, she thought. _At least I know I will be doing things that are challenging, instead of things that are_ cushy. _Too cushy for me_.

"Now that you know, you will also be working with the engineers working on this project to make sure that the helm is working properly."

"Is there going to be a full crew?" she asked, wondering.

"Yes. Not only will we have the personnel necessary to fight off the aliens, we will have scientists, so they can learn as much as they can for the Federation, and a medical staff in case anyone gets hurt. It's always a good idea."

"Yes, I agree, Admiral," Juanita said.

"Well, it's time for a lunch break. I'll let you go get some food, then go back and do your job. If you ever have a question, don't be afraid to come and ask. Alright, dismissed," Admiral Zackirya said, standing up.

Juanita followed his lead and stood up. "Thank you sir. I hope you have a nice lunch." She started walking toward the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, Lieutenant."

Juanita stopped, and turned back to face Admiral Zackirya. "What is it, sir?" she asked.

"Don't talk to anyone about this, except those you work closely with, alright?" Admiral Zackirya said. "We don't want any questions asked until we have actually lifted off."

"Understood, sir. I'll see you later." Juanita left.

On her way out of the building, she ran into Max, who was also going to lunch.

"Hi Max. Are you getting some lunch, too?" Juanita asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Want to join me?"

"Sure. Does Italian sound good?" she asked.

"Yes, do you want to go to that restaurant we went to that first day?"

"Of course. I love their pizza. It's delicious!" she said

"Alright then, it's decided. Let's go!" Max said. The two friends started walking. Max stopped, and turned to Juanita, who stopped and turned back to look at Max. "What were you and Admiral Zackirya talking about this morning? I saw you go into his office when you came on duty this morning, but I didn't see you come out until lunch."

Juanita looked at him straight in the eye. "I'm afraid I can't talk about it, Max. It's confidential. I'll be able to answer any questions you have after my mission."

Max looked slightly disappointed. "Alright. If you can't tell me anything now, it's gotta be good." A smile broke out on his face. "Let's get some food."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Over the next week, Juanita worked diligently with the engineers to make sure that the ship's piloting system was in tip-top shape. Of course, they all had to do their jobs on the ship in between museum duties, when no one was in their part of the museum, which sometimes meant having to work overtime. Juanita usually worked well past midnight. One day, though, Commander Stevenson went up to her during her break.

"May I speak with you for a minute, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"Sure, Commander, any time," she said.

"Lieutenant, I've noticed that you've been working hard this last week. Too hard. I want you to go home right after your shift ends, and rest," the commander said.

"Sir, this is the biggest event of my life. I have to work this hard." Juanita was feeling her Klingon side rising to the surface.

"No one will want a pilot who is so tired she can hardly even think straight. I'm ordering you to take a break today."

Juanita knew that she couldn't argue with a direct order, especially one that was for her own good. Then she got an idea. "Commander, does rest just mean not working?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so," Commander Stevenson said. "Why did you ask?"

"I was just curious, sir," Juanita said.

The Commander noticed that her break was over, just as Juanita did. "Well, I'll let you get back to work," he said, as a tour group came around the corner. He left Juanita to do her job, and smiled to the group as he passed.

Juanita walked up to the group and their tour guide introduced her. She then started talking about the ships' piloting capabilities they could see through the portals, as that was her job.

_Three hours later..._

Juanita finished her shift, but instead of going to help the rest of the defense crew, as she liked to refer to the crew that was going to defend the heart of the Federation, she went up to the reception booth, where Max worked. She saw him at the computer, finishing up.

"Hi, Max," Juanita said, as he straightened up.

Max turned to face her. "Oh, hi Juanita."

Juanita paused for a second. "Would you like to come over to my place?" she asked.

Max nodded. "Sure."

Juanita slowly let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "My place isn't too far from here; we can walk."

"Walking sounds better than sitting. I've been doing more sitting in the last week than I have in a long time," Max said.

The two friends walked to Juanita's apartment, talking, and having a good time together.

The next day, when Juanita had reported for duty, Commander Stevenson pulled her aside. "Admiral Zackirya wants everyone working on the project to meet with him just outside his office today after hours," he said, quietly.

"Alright. I'll be there," Juanita said in the same quiet tone. She paused for a second. "Why did you pull me aside?" she asked.

"We don't want people overhearing us," Commander Stevenson said. "I've been telling everyone since they've reported for duty."

"Oh, okay," she said. "May I start working now, sir? I think the students from the local schools will be arriving at my post soon."

"Alright, you may go," he said, and watched her as she went to her post. He then went to his posting.

Juanita rarely felt so anxious for a meeting. She felt like the hours were creeping along, and would have let her Klingon fierceness come racing out if it wasn't for her Starfleet training. Fortunately, she had her job to distract her.

Finally, the museum closed for the day, and Juanita went to the area that Commander Stevenson had specified, where a crowd was already forming. She saw the door to Admiral Zackirya's office open, and saw the top of his head. He must have had a stepstool because his head and the top of his shoulders suddenly appeared above the crowd. A few more people joined the crowd, and then everyone went silent. Admiral Zackirya started speaking.

"The subspace race has been coming ever closer, and soon they will be upon us. Our ship, the Enterprise, is almost finished, and only needs a few tweaks to be ready. We will launch in one week. I will be the commanding officer on board," he said. "We will have to work harder than ever in the next week to ensure that no civilian will find out about our mission, so no one will panic. You may talk to any Starfleet officer about this, but please, refrain from telling any civilian. Dismissed." With that, Admiral Zackirya got down and went inside his office. When they saw the door close, the crowd slowly dispersed, talking.

Juanita paused for a moment, mulling over the information the admiral had given them. She was still lost in her thoughts when she started walking toward the door. Juanita was thinking about it so much she didn't notice the woman who walked up behind her.

"Are you Juanita Paris Worf?" she asked.

Juanita was so startled she didn't speak for a moment. Then, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Commander m'Krell, the Romulan chief engineer," she said. "I've heard about you, you're a great pilot. I know you'll do well in our upcoming battle."

"Well, I guess the word battle will work for our upcoming encounter." Juanita suddenly smiled. "We'll defeat them honorably," she said.

"We will. We most certainly will," Lieutenant Commander m'Krell said. "How come you have two last names, Lieutenant?" she suddenly said.

"It's something I prefer not discussing with almost complete strangers, Commander. If we get to know each other better, I'll tell you then." Juanita was getting irritated, even though she had a good rest the day before.

M'Krell looked slightly disappointed, but she took it like a Starfleet officer. "Alright then. Your call." M'Krell nodded, then left Juanita outside the museum's doors.

Juanita stood, watching m'Krell walk home, and started walking home herself after she saw her disappear. When she got home, she had a hard time getting to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Juanita was listening to the news as she was getting ready for work the day before the launch. She wasn't paying all that much attention until something caught her interest. The reporter had said something about some outposts going missing along their border. She listened to see if there was anything more, but the reporter was done with that part of the report.

_I probably should tell the Commander about this,_she thought. _I'd better hurry up and get to work so I can tell him._

Juanita hurried into the museum, just a few minutes earlier than normal. She quickly looked for the commander, and then saw him hurrying toward her.

"Lieutenant! Come with me. Everybody else in our division is already there," he said, and gestured to her to follow him, and she did so.

Her division was crowded in a room, close to a computer. "Okay, now that everybody's here, let's hear it," Commander Stevenson said. A woman next to the computer spoke up.

"This came in about 45 minutes ago. Some, or most of you might have heard on the news about some outposts on the edge of our borders going missing. This is what was sent just before Outpost 339 disappeared." She paused to let it sink in. "Computer, play recording."

A man's voice came from the computer. "_We've tried everything! The phasers, the photon torpedoes, everything! They won't work! Nothing created after the discovery of subspace will work! They're just getting stronger!!!" "We're starting to break up, Captain!!" "Everyone to the escape pods, NOW!!"_ The recording played on a few seconds longer with the sound of things being destroyed, then stopped.

"The Outpost was destroyed moments later. No one survived." The woman shook her head. "Whatever it is, it's like nothing we've ever encountered before."

There was a slight murmur of agreement. Then Commander Stevenson went to the front.

"Now, we're going to have to really work hard until tomorrow. We have our jobs to do here, let's do them." There was a wave of nodding heads. Everyone filed out after the commander and started working.

It was launch day. Juanita walked to the Starfleet Museum, as usual, but today she had a package in her arms. Little did passersby know that inside the package was her bat'leth and ceremonial sash, which had belonged to her ancestor, Worf. It had been passed down to her father, and he gave it to her after her first Day of Honor.

She walked into the museum and saw a few of her soon-to-be crew mates carrying similar packages, all heading to their designated areas. Juanita decided to go over to the reception desk, where she knew that Max was working.

"Hello, Max," she said, when she had reached the desk.

Max looked up, and a smile broke out on his face. "I was just thinking about you," he said, and the smile faded from his normally cheery face when he saw the look on Juanita's. "What's the matter? You look like you're on a death walk."

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, quietly.

Max lowered his voice. "Sure, what is it, Juanita?"

Juanita looked around. "Max, if you don't see me in the next 48 hours, don't freak out. But if I'm not back in a week, I want you to send this to my family, all right?" she said, handing him an envelope.

"Alright. But could you tell me what's going on?" Max asked, taking the envelope and looking at the package in her arms.

Juanita sighed. "I'm afraid I can't, Max. But if I can't tell you in person, my family _will_ tell you, I assure you."

"Okay. But I _will_ start worrying if you don't take that look off your face, Juanita," Max said, trying to put a smile on his. Juanita couldn't help but smile after that.

She walked over to where she usually reported for duty and saw Commander Stevenson. Juanita walked up to him. "Lieutenant Juanita Paris Worf, reporting for duty, sir," she said, in a smart military fashion.

He turned around and faced her, with a small smile on his face. "Good, Lieutenant." Commander Stevenson saw the package in her arm. "May I ask what you're bringing?" he asked.

"I'm bringing my Klingon bat'leth, and my Klingon sash. It's part of my history, and since I'm approximately half-Klingon, I wanted to feel like I was going in able to defend myself."

"I understand. Like yourself, several other people have brought things in." Stevenson looked over his shoulder. "I think you're the last to check in. Let's head over to the ship's hold together. That's where everyone is unwrapping their packages."

Juanita nodded, and started walking beside the commander. She looked over at him and asked, "Did you bring anything, sir?"

He didn't answer for a few moments. "It's already in the ship's computer." As they neared the entrance, he said, "But what it is exactly, is a surprise."

"Oh. Well, then, I'm looking forward to that surprise." Juanita entered after Commander Stevenson, and looked around. She saw a fairly big room, about the same size as a shuttle bay, but with lockers and about 200 people. Juanita noticed a row of lockers that had a plaque that said "Senior Officers." She went down and saw a locker with her name. She opened it, and saw a uniform, similar to standard Starfleet issue, but slightly different. _I guess these were made especially for us,_ Juanita thought. She took it out and looked for the nearest bathroom, and when she found it, went inside. Juanita came back out a few minutes later, wearing the new uniform, her sash, and carrying her bat'leth and old uniform. She put her old uniform into her locker.

Lieutenant Commander m'Krell came up behind Juanita and said, "I see you've put your new uniform on." Juanita whipped around, her bat'leth still in hand. "Whoa, I'm not attacking you, you know," she said.

Juanita lowered her bat'leth. "I was just surprised." She noticed that m'Krell was also wearing the new uniform. "I see you're wearing our new uniform," Juanita said. "They're more... practical, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are. And way more comfortable." Commander m'Krell glanced toward the end of the row of lockers. "I hope we're able to stop them."

Juanita sighed. "I do, too. Otherwise we'll probably be out of homes and jobs." Just then, over an intercom, they heard Admiral Zackirya's voice.

"This is Admiral Zackirya speaking. It's time to board the Enterprise, people."

Lieutenant Juanita Paris Worf and Lieutenant Commander m'Krell looked at each other, nodded, and headed toward the boarding area together.

Once they got onto the Enterprise, m'Krell and Juanita parted ways. M'Krell headed towards engineering and Juanita headed toward the bridge.

When she arrived on the bridge, Juanita was amazed. _They did a really good job on this,_ she thought, _It looks almost exactly like it did when Captain Kirk commanded her._ She sat down at the pilot's seat and thought, _This is where Sulu sat!_ Juanita already knew how to operate the controls, but she familiarized herself all the same.

The stations began filling up around her, then the Admiral and Commander Stevenson came onto the bridge, both of whom smiled at the sight before them.

"Crew, today is a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives, and the Federation will remember this day long after we are gone. We all hope and pray for a positive outcome," Admiral Zackirya said, taking the captain's chair. Commander Stevenson stood behind him. Then, the admiral swiveled around to face Commander Stevenson. "Will you check to see if everyone is on board?" he asked.

Stevenson nodded. "Yes, sir." He went over to the science officer station, the same one that Spock had when he was on the Enterprise, and checked the reports. Turning back to face the admiral, he said, "All personnel have reported for duty and are ready to go, Admiral."

"Understood." Admiral Zackirya looked to each and everyone on the bridge. He turned to the communications officer, Lieutenant Bradson. "Put me on the ship-wide com system," he ordered.

Lieutenant Bradson nodded, and pressed a button. "You can start speaking now, sir," she said.

After he let out a breath of air, Admiral Zackirya started speaking. "This is Admiral Zackirya speaking. I wanted to tell you all that you are a fine group of officers. No matter what the outcome of our mission, be aware that I know and everyone else knows that you did your best. I wish you all the best of luck. Admiral out." At that, Lieutenant Bradson took him off the com system. "Alright. Is our flight path clear?," he asked Juanita.

Juanita pressed a few buttons on her console and said, "Our flight path out is clear, sir. Permission to launch?"

Admiral Zackirya smiled. "Permission granted. Take us out, Lieutenant."

Pushing a button, Juanita said, "Get ready for a rough ride, because the launching sequence has been initiated." Everyone on the bridge quickly buckled their seat belts. Right after they heard the last click, they were slammed back into their seats.

They were going up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The people of Mars felt a huge rumbling and heard a roar. Everyone was distracted from what they were doing and looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. A few people saw something shoot up from the planet's surface. They looked at each other and asked, "What the h was that?"

Back on the ship, Juanita reported, "We have left Mars' surface, sir." Everyone was relaxing after the tremendous G forces that they endured during take off.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Start the next phase," the Admiral said. Commander Stevenson walked over to him and whispered something in his ear. Admiral Zackirya nodded, and Stevenson went back to his station. About 60 minutes later, it was announced that they were approaching Earth.

As soon as they got within range, Juanita started towards the moon to use its gravity, along with Earth's, to whip towards the subspace ship.

Finally, they reached the moon, and Juanita maneuvered the ship to whip around the moon, then on to Earth.

_Lunar Colony_

A light, brighter than three suns, appeared, blinding almost everybody. They all started looking around, trying find the source. About 100 people saw a great yellow streak close to the surface, then saw it head for Earth. People started wondering if it was another species who had decided to invade Earth, but that idea was squashed down by the belief that they would have been told already if that was happening.

_USS Enterprise_

"We have successfully gained speed from the moon, and we are now headed toward Earth," Juanita said.

_One minute later, Earth_

People were milling around the streets of San Francisco when they saw something in the sky. Whatever it was, the streak looked surprisingly like the pictures of the Starship Enterprise... and people were looking at it, and at each other in confusion and awe. One person said, "Maybe Captain Kirk has returned from the dead." Her friend, who was standing right next to her said, "Oh, come on, he's been dead for at least two centuries. There's no way somebody can come back from the dead after _that_ long."

_USS Enterprise_

"Are we headed toward the... enemy, Lieutenant?" the Admiral asked. He was pacing in front of the Captain's chair when he said this.

"Yes sir, we are. The ETA is 20 minutes... now," Juanita said, glancing at the instruments in front of her.

Admiral Zackirya pressed a button on the arm of his chair, which connected him to the entire ship. "Attention, this is the Admiral. We will be intercepting the other ship in approximately 20 minutes. Report to your battle stations and get ready to fight. Repeat: report to your battle stations and get ready to fight. Admiral out."

_19 minutes later..._

The Andorian security officer, Thallok, spoke up. "I've just picked up the subspace ship on sensors, sir," he said, in a calm, steady voice.

"Alright. On screen, Lieutenant," the Admiral ordered. Thallok pressed a button and a ship unlike any they had ever seen appeared on the screen in front of them. It was a rather large ship, with its shields giving it a slightly hazy look.

"Sir, I believe they are scanning us," Thallok said, his eyes a little wider than normal. "I've double checked it, sir, they most certainly are."

Admiral Zackirya was silent for about 15 seconds. "Try scanning them in return." Commander Stevenson went over to his station, ready to receive any information.

Thallok pressed yet another button. "Scanning, sir. It's met no resistance so far... wait, there are two areas that we aren't able to scan. They have something set up to block it." In their century, Starfleet had come up with several ways of blocking scans, so it would be logical to assume that other organizations also did.

"Admiral, we picked up the usual areas, except for their engineering. I found nothing that would lead us in the direction of what that second area is," Stevenson said.

"Acknowledged. Lieutenant Bradson, try hailing them," the Admiral said. "If we could speak with them, we might be able to come to some sort of understanding with them."

Bradson nodded. "Yes sir," she said. "Enterprise to unknown ship, please come in. Unknown ship, please respond." Lieutenant Bradson tried this for about a minute, then turned to face the Admiral. "I used all radio frequencies since the subspace frequencies are off line. No response."

Admiral Zackirya opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Thallok said, "Sir, I believe they're powering weapons."

"Shields to maximum, Lieutenant Thallok." The Admiral was staring at the screen.

"Sir, that might not be a wise idea," Stevenson said. "You do remember that our shields had been created at about the same time as our warp drive." He had walked over to the Admiral's side.

"We have to risk it, Commander." He looked toward the two people in front of him. "Lieutenant, raise shields." Zackirya looked over at him. "I think it would be a good idea if you let it be known to the rest of us what song you wanted to play during the battle, Sam. That's an order."

Stevenson furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his jaw, but nodded and went to his console. A few moments later, a song started playing. Almost immediately, they were hit.

"Shields down to 75!" Thallok reported.

"Lieutenants! Maneuver 98-alpha-beta!" Zackirya said. A new batch of maneuvers had been created just for them, using only the old-fashioned weaponry that would be effective against this new foe. This one meant that Juanita would fly in close so that Thallok would be able to fire a cannon and a volley of bullets in the same spot

Juanita flew in closer, then seconds after the ship had reached the optimum range, Thallok fired the cannon. A few seconds after, he fired a volley of bullets. Everyone was thrown against their consoles and was bounced around. Juanita pulled the ship away as soon as he finished. The screen showed a hole in the enemy's shields when the cannon hit, and a big hole in the other ship when the volley of bullets hit.

_Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton,_

_Old times there are not forgotten,_

_Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land._

Their ship was shaken again. "Shields holding at 60!" Thallok said.

"Maneuver 98-alpha-beta again!"

This time, when Thallok and Juanita performed the maneuver, bigger holes were created and quite a number of bodies floated out. A few seconds later, they disappeared in a small flash of light. After Thallok had fired, however, they had momentarily lost artificial gravity. All around the ship, everyone who wasn't buckled down started floating up, then crashed back down.

_In Dixie Land, where I was born in,_

_early on one frosty mornin',_

_Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land._

They were hit twice, and shields went down to 50. They were starting to get damage, and more and more people were going to sickbay.

"Maneuver 29 Charlie-beta!" Zackirya ordered.

This maneuver meant flying close in like 98-alpha-beta, but firing two cannons. When the two cannons hit, a huge chunk of shielding went down and a hole in the other ship's hull was created, sending out even more people to their deaths. Thallok was ordered to fire several volleys of bullets through the hole that they had created. They were all jolted around.

_I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!_

_In Dixieland I'll take my stand_

_to live and die in Dixie._

_Away, away, away down south in Dixie._

_Away, away, away down south in Dixie_

"We've taken out some of their weapons, Admiral!" Thallok reported.

Stevenson turned in his chair slightly. "And, whatever this race is, they can't survive for more than a couple seconds in space before disintegrating."

They were hit again. "Shields holding at 50, sir," Thallok said.

"Maneuver 29 Charlie-beta, again," Zackirya ordered.

Juanita piloted the Enterprise closer to the subspace ship, then Thallok fired the two cannons. The other ship started to drift. "Their engines are out, now!" Thallok said, after everyone on the bridge was thrown against their consoles.

_Ole Missus marry "Will the weaver"_

_Willum was a gay deceiver_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

The Enterprise was rocked severely. "The shields protecting the warp nacels are down to 40!" Thallok glanced back down at his console. "The rest of the shields are holding!"

"Maneuver 98-alpha-beta!"Admiral Zackirya ordered, with a look of grim defiance. When the bullets and cannon hit, a part of the subspace ship blew up. When Thallok was firing, they lost artificial gravity for a few seconds.

_But when he put his arm around 'er,_

_He smiled fierce as a forty pounder,_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

The Enterprise was shaken again. "The port nacel is completely unprotected now, sir!" Thallok reported.

"I've just discovered the second area that we couldn't scan! It's some kind of device, allowing them to come from their subspace dimension, and into ours!" Stevenson said. He stood up to go over the engineer's station, but before he could take a step, the Enterprise was hit and he tumbled to the ground.

_His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaver_

_But that did not seem to grieve 'er_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

Commander Stevenson made it to the engineer's station. "The Engineering staff is having trouble keeping this ship together, Admiral," he reported.

"Acknowledged, Commander," Admiral Zackirya said. "Maneuver 76 delta-Charlie." This maneuver meant flying close to the enemy ship, firing two cannons and two volleys of bullets. The subspace ship lost more shielding, hull, and people.

_Ole Missus acted the foolish part_

_And died for a man who broke her heart_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

Commander Stevenson was able to hurry back to his station before they were hit again. "Shields down to 45!" Thallok reported. Then the subspace ship started moving again. "They've got secondary engines on line now!"

"Maneuver 61 beta-delta!" the Admiral ordered. This one meant flying up behind the other ship and firing a long volley of bullets and a cannon. But before Juanita and Thallok were able to pull it off, they were hit again. The lights flickered, then went to emergency power.

"All lights are on emergency power, and shields down to 40!" reported Thallok. Then he and Juanita were able to complete maneuver 61 beta-delta.

_Now here's a health to the next ole Missus_

_An' all the gals that want to kiss us;_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

"They have lost engines again!" Thallok reported after the maneuver was completed. Another hole had been created and more had died on the other ship. They were hit again, and circuits in an unmanned station blew.

_Man, am I getting a headache,_ Juanita thought. _If I could go and challenge their leader in hand-to-hand combat, I'd rip his head off._ Her Klingon tendencies were surfacing again.

"Maneuver 98-alpha-beta, again!" Admiral Zackirya ordered. This time, all the subspace ship's shields went down.

_But if you want to drive 'way sorrow_

_Come and hear this song tomorrow_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

They were hit yet again. This time, a shower of sparks came down in front of the turbolift. By this time in the battle, things were hanging down from the ceiling, and everything and everyone was rather dirty.

"How much ammunition do we have, Thallok?" the admiral asked. His hands were clenching the sides of his chair.

"Enough for two 98-alpha-betas, sir," was his reply. Thallok was looking over his shoulder at the Admiral when he said this.

"Aim for what remains of their weapons, and fire remaining cannons," the admiral ordered. "And fly in as close as you can without ramming them."

Juanita and Thallok looked at each other, and nodded. They proceeded to follow out their order.

_There's buckwheat cakes and Injun batter,_

_Makes you fat or a little fatter,_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

Another chunk of the subspace ship disintegrated, and Thallok reported that their shields were holding. They were hit again, but it wasn't quite as rough as before, because they had destroyed most of their enemies weapons.

"Thallok, give them the rest of our ammo," Admiral Zackirya said. "It's time we got rid of them."

Thallok nodded, and fired a long volley of bullets.

_Then hoe it down and scratch your gravel,_

_To Dixie's Land I'm bound to travel,_

_Look away! Look away! Look away!_

_Dixie Land_

What remained of the subspace ship blew into smithereens, and created a bit of a tidal wave. The Enterprise was thrown a ways before they slowly drifted to an almost complete stop. When nothing happened for nearly a minute, everyone droppedtheir personal defenses and gave each other triumphant smiles as the last bars of _Dixie Land_ played out. Unfortunately, Juanita's console overheated and exploded, sending a shower of sparks all over. Thallok got some, but Juanita got the most.

The next thing Juanita knew, she was waking up in a sickbay bed, and Dr. Sauri, the CMO was standing over her. He gave her a warm smile and said, "You gave us quite a scare, up there on the bridge. How are you feeling?"

Juanita raised a hand to her head. "Like I was thrown in one of those antique dryers, then got burned." She looked up at the doctor. "Can't you give me something for this killer headache?"

Dr. Sauri nodded, and pressed a hypospray to her neck. "That should help. The Admiral has been waiting for over an hour for you to wake up. He wants to talk with you. Do you feel up to it?"

Juanita nodded gently, because although her headache was less than it had been, it was still there. "Yeah, I'm up to it."

"I'll go get him. When, or if, you start feeling worse, just tell anyone of my staff, or myself," Dr. Sauri said, then left to get Admiral Zackirya.

When Dr. Sauri left, Juanita lifted herself up and saw that there were many other people in sickbay as well. Most were in better shape than she was, sleeping off the injuries, but she frowned as she noted several worse off than herself. They were the ones on the beds with the most medical equipment.

A few minutes later, Dr. Sauri returned with the Admiral. Dr. Sauri said something to him, then started to help another patient. The Admiral walked up to Juanita, looking slightly unsure of himself.

"I see you're regaining some of your strength," he said, in an almost fatherly way.

Juanita smiled. "It certainly feels that way," she said with a small chuckle. "I still ache all over, but with the painkiller that Dr. Sauri gave me, it's less than it had been."

Admiral Zackirya grinned. "Good. I'd like to congratulate you on how well you flew today. I couldn't have wished for a better pilot for our mission."

"Thank you, Admiral. I haven't received a compliment for some time now. Thanks again," she said, and laid back down, her arms tired. "Are we on our way back, sir?"

"Not yet. The engineers are making some repairs first, and bringing a few systems back on line, like the replicators, the warp and impulse engines, and the subspace radio. Starfleet command already knows of our success, and now awaits our arrival."

Juanita took a few deep breaths. "Have they told the public yet?" she asked.

The Admiral shook his head. "They wanted to wait until we returned to tell them." Right then, Dr. Sauri came up.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to end your conversation now. Lieutenant Paris Worf needs her rest," he said, mainly to the admiral.

The admiral nodded. "Alright. I'll see you when you get out of sickbay, Lieutenant." With that, he turned and walked away, with a backward glance.

Juanita looked up at the doctor. "When will you let me leave? No offense, but I've never really liked being in sickbays."

"None taken. I'd say you'd be able to leave within 48 hours. Now, I'm going to give you something that will help your skin heal," Dr. Sauri said, "And I don't want you to do anything more than sit up in bed until I say you can, got that?"

"Gotcha," Juanita said, and Dr. Sauri pressed another hypospray to her neck.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Juanita grabbed her bag of the few things that she had brought, which included some clothing, and her bat'leth, then headed off to the shuttle bay. After landing the ship on Earth, they had opened the shuttle bay and laid a huge ramp from the floor of the shuttle bay to the ground. Juanita had set the ship down in a field not to far from San Fransisco.

She knew that she would be one of the last, if not the last, to leave the ship, but that didn't stop her from pausing for a few moments in her quarters, for they would be some of the last the she would spend on the Enterprise. Finally, Juanita turned and walked out of her quarters, but paused at her door to take one last look back. She purposely walked slowly, to make sure that she would spend as much time on the ship before she had to leave.

Stepping inside the shuttle bay, Juanita saw that she wouldn't be the last to leave. The entire senior staff was waiting for her: Admiral Zackirya, Commander Stevenson, Lieutenant Commander m'Krell, Lieutenant Thallok, Dr. Sauri, and Lieutenant Bradson. They were all looking at her when they heard the door open.

The Admiral took a breath and spoke. "Now that the entire senior staff is here, shall we leave?" he asked. There were murmurs of agreement from everyone. They slowly started walking towards the exit, with all six of them looking back every couple of steps.

When they reached the ramp, they were in for a bit of a surprise. There were hundreds of people there, not including the crew. Everyone was mingling, and talking, but quickly died down when they saw them appear. For about a minute, all you could hear was the slight breeze, and birds chirping in the distance. Then, a huge roar of cheering and applause came up, nearly deafening everyone. Juanita then realized that they were viewed as _heroes_.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the ramp, people started shaking their hands, patting them on the back, and congratulating them. After about half an hour, that finally stopped happening as the non-crew members slowly left. But, a few remained.

Juanita almost literally ran into her parents without realizing to. When she realized who they were, she said, "Mom! Dad! You're here!" and hugged them both.

Her parents were equally pleased to see her. "Why didn't you tell us that you were going on this mission, Juanita?" her mom said.

"Well, Mom, I was under orders not to tell anyone about it. I would have said something if it wasn't for that," she said, still very pleased to see her parents.

"We know, we know. You take your orders very seriously, which shows your loyalty to Starfleet. If we weren't proud of you before, we are now," Juanita's father, Tom, said.

They kept on talking for a few minutes, then Juanita got a call on her combadge. "Just a second," she said to her parents, then answered. It was from the Admiral, and he said that there would be a crew party within a week, more details to come.

Her mother, Jenny, who was part Klingon like her father, asked, "Who was it?"

"That was Admiral Zackirya, saying that there would be a crew party sometime this week," Juanita said.

"Well, we have to get back to work now. Would you like to stay with us for now?" Jenny asked.

Juanita laughed. "Thanks, but I've been given temporary quarters at Starfleet Command. I'll be sure to stop by for some food, though." What she said was true, but she also had another reason: Her parents home, although very welcoming, was very small and very crowded with her parents' belongings.

"Try to come by at least twice before you have to leave, alright?" Juanita's mother said.

Juanita nodded. "I'll try to make it over to your place more times, if it's possible, Mom."

"Well, we have to get back to work now, Juanita. We're both off tomorrow, so why don't you try to come over tomorrow?" Tom asked, gruffly.

"Sure, of course. Anything for my parents," Juanita said, and her parents grinned. They said their farewells, hugged and departed each other's company.

A few hours later, Juanita had just left her room to go get some food when she ran into Max, and big grins erupted onto their faces when they recognized each other.

"Finally! I've been looking for you for over an hour!" Max exclaimed. "Want to go get something to eat?"

Nodding, Juanita said, "Of course. I was just heading out to get some."

The next day, Juanita went over to her parents' house for lunch. They talked for an hour and a half before they even ate anything, and Juanita stayed for another hour and a half after. The three of them spent all their time together catching up on what had happened.

"The one thing I still don't get is why Starfleet didn't let the crew's families know what was going to happen," Tom said. "I know they didn't want anyone to panic, but they should have realized that everybody related to those in Starfleet know that their family members might die in the line of service."

"Dad, Starfleet isn't perfect. Nothing can be absolutely 100 perfect. I wouldn't be surprised if a some people have sent in complaints about it," Juanita said. "I'd love to stay longer, but I need to work on my report for Admiral Zackirya."

Her parents nodded. "Alright, Juanita. Come back soon," Jenny said.

"I promise, Mom." They hugged, then Juanita went over to her father and hugged him. They said goodbye, and Juanita headed back, so she could work on that report.

_One day later, the crew party at Starfleet HQ_

Juanita was standing with the rest of the senior staff. They had been talking for at least an hour, getting to know each other even better, now that they weren't on duty.

"Juanita, just out of curiosity, why are the names 'Paris' and 'Worf' part of your name?" m'Krell asked. "I asked you once before, but you said that you didn't want to tell me yet. I was wondering if this was the right time."

_Well, I did go into battle with them. They all have a right to know,_ Juanita thought. "You've heard of Tom Paris, the pilot of USS Voyager?" she asked.

Everyone nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of him. Didn't he marry B'Ellana Torres?" m'Krell asked.

"Yes, he did. Their daughter, Miral, is my great-great grandmother or something. That's why Paris is my first last name. Have you heard heard of Worf? He was the security chief on the Enterprise for a while."

"Yeah, I've heard of him. I think he retired from Starfleet because he had to go back to Qo'nos," Thallok said.

Juanita nodded. "He also had a son named Alexander. He married my great-great grandmother, Tom Paris's daughter. You see, the reason why Rozhenko isn't part of my name is that after Worf died, Alexander's and Miral's son changed his last name to Worf because of his admiration for his grandfather."

"That's why you're about half-human, half-Klingon," Dr. Sauri said. Juanita nodded in confirmation.

Admiral Zackirya looked at m'Krell. "You are Romulan, right?" he asked.

"I am, but I was raised with a human family," she said.

"Why?" Thallok asked.

"My parents were killed in a lab accident," m'Krell said. "For some reason, I never knew what my last name was, so I decided to never have one. That's why m'Krell is the only thing listed under 'Name.'" The rest of the group nodded in understanding.

Just then, a young ensign made his way over to Admiral Zackirya. "Sir? I was asked to bring this over," he said, and handed the Admiral a PADD.

Zackirya took it from the ensign. "Thank you. That will be all." He looked at the PADD, and after a few moments, he looked up and met everyone's questioning eyes. "Apparently we have a new assignment."


End file.
